“THE
ARCHERS VS. SELZNICK = 2 MOVIES IN 1â€
By
Raymond Benson
Here’s
an interesting lesson in filmmaking. Students of the art might learn something
by watching the two different cuts of this motion picture to see what happens
when a movie is edited down—especially when the original was made by bona fide artists
as opposed to a slick Hollywood producer who, albeit successful, might not
know everything.
David
O. Selznick was a powerhouse producer and head of his own personal studio (he
had, after all, produced Gone with the Wind, Rebecca, Spellbound,
and many other Hollywood classics). “The Archers†were a unique British directing/writing/producing
team and production company that consisted of the brilliant Michael Powell and
Emeric Pressburger, who, for a solid decade, delivered some of the most
engaging and beautifully-rendered works of cinematic art in the 20th Century.
It is true that Powell and Pressburger were perhaps not as appreciated during
their time as they should have been, but their work has been re-evaluated and
newly appraised (by the likes of filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, among
others). Nevertheless, today there is no debating that The Archers made a
handful of masterpieces between 1941 and 1951, including The Life and Death
of Colonel Blimp, A Matter of Life and Death, Black Narcissus,
and The Red Shoes.
In
1950, Powell and Pressburger teamed up with American producer Selznick to make Gone
to Earth, which was based on the 1917 novel by Mary Webb. The story takes
place in the country-lands between England and Wales in the late 1800s, thereby
automatically opening it up to scenic beauty and a cinematographer’s dream. Gone
to Earth stars Selznick’s then-wife, Jennifer Jones, as Hazel, a
free-spirited, unsophisticated and superstitious “nature girl†who has an
affinity with all animals (except, significantly, dogs) and especially a wild
young fox, “Foxy,†that she keeps as a pet.
Edward
Marston (Cyril Cusack) is a Baptist minister new to the nearby village, and he
immediately becomes smitten with Hazel. She reluctantly agrees to marry him,
even though she has already met and is intrigued by the arrogant, handsome, and
wealthy squire Jack Reddin (David Farrar), who lives in quite the palace-like
manor, complete with a feisty servant (Hugh Griffith). Oddly, it’s implied that
Edward does not consummate the marriage with Hazel. It isn’t long before she
runs off to engage in (again, it’s implied) carnal passion with Jack. As
expected, things don’t turn out well for Hazel.
The
plot of Gone to Earth might remind viewers of David Lean’s Ryan’s
Daughter, which was released twenty years later. What the earlier film has
going for it is Jones, who is splendid—despite being slightly miscast, in this
reviewer’s opinion—and the gorgeous Technicolor photography by Christopher
Challis. This is a “mood picture,†in that it’s really all about the setting,
the period, and the attitudes of the characters rather than the story.
Enter
Selznick. He did to Gone to Earth what he did to Vittorio De Sica’s Terminal
Station three years later. This Italian production, directed by the great
Neo-Realist filmmaker and produced by Selznick, also starred Jennifer Jones
(see the Cinema Retro review here). Selznick didn’t like
the original film, but he had the right to recut it for the American release,
which he did, turning the picture into Indiscretion of an American Wife
against De Sica’s wishes.
With
Gone to Earth, Selznick also infuriated the original filmmakers by deleting
nearly a half hour from the 110-minute running time, adding “Overture†and
“Exit Music†title cards and music, and even having shot a couple of new scenes
(directed by uncredited Rouben Mamoulian). Selznick released the new version as
The Wild Heart in the USA in 1952.
Neither
version did very well financially or critically in their respective releases at
the time, although Powell and Pressburger’s original Gone to Earth, like
all The Archers’ movies, has received considerable reassessment and
acclaim.
Kino
Lorber’s new Blu-ray edition presents both pictures in glorious,
colorful restorations, with The Wild Heart as its main feature, and Gone
to Earth as a supplemental attraction. The former exhibits the better
transfer, with clear, sharp imagery. The latter is almost as good, but it is
obvious that it came from different source material. There are English
subtitles for the hearing impaired. Each film sports an audio commentary—The
Wild Heart by film historian Troy Howarth and Gone to Earth by film
historian Samm Deighan. Other trailers featuring actress Jones round out the
package.
Gone
to Earth was
the second-to-last production by Powell and Pressburger working together. It’s
not in the top tier of their pictures, to be sure, but it’s still a worthwhile
and fascinating pastoral meditation on life in Britain in those days. The
Wild Heart serves as another example of Hollywood meddling, but an
interesting study piece for filmmakers and editors.
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